SAVE Act: Protecting Elections or Suppressing Votes?

0:00It's March 25th. From your city to your ears, this is Birmingham News today, powered by AI. The Save Act aims to protect federal elections by requiring proof of US citizenship for voter registration. Key rules include showing documents like a passport, birth certificate, or real ID in person, plus a government photo ID at the polls. States would also need to update records for moves, or name changes, and regularly check voter lists against federal databases to remove non-citizens. This comes amid concerns over non-citizen voting, with estimates of around 30 million non-citizens in the US, both legal and illegal. Many states link voter registration to driver's license applications, which often don't verify citizenship, allowing some non-citizens to sign up. Federal laws like the Motor Voter Act have made enforcement tricky, even though citizenship is already required. Audits and several states have uncovered thousands of non-citizens on roles, 6,303 in Virginia,

1:026,500 in Texas, and 3,251 in Alabama. Critics worry, this skews elections and even affects congressional seats through census counts. President Trump backs the bill to ensure honest elections, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calls it a threat to voting rights. Supporters argue it prevents illegal votes without blocking eligible citizens. The House passed a save act on February 11, 2026, by a 218-213 vote. It's stalled in the Senate due to a Democratic filibuster, with passage seen as key ahead of midterm elections.